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Council revises public utilities administrator job description to emphasize managerial role, preserve technical oversight
Summary
The council approved updates clarifying that the public utilities administrator role emphasizes management while licensed chief operators retain technical responsibilities; members asked to add explicit wording about protecting ratepayers and to circulate the final draft by email before publication.
The Town Council approved revisions to the public utilities administrator (PUA) job description that emphasize managerial responsibilities and rely on licensed chief operators for technical water and wastewater operations.
Town staff said the purpose of the change is to expand the candidate pool by removing rigid licensing prerequisites (water distribution and treatment licenses) as job requirements and to clarify that licensed operators and superintendents will continue to hold technical responsibility. "Paul Seretta is the wastewater treatment plant operator and handles operations in the collection system; he has all of those licenses," the town manager said to illustrate the department’s staffing model.
Councilors asked that the description explicitly reference the duty to protect ratepayers when drafting duties related to system expansion and funding, and requested corrections (WPCA acronym in a few places). A motion to accept the changes and prepare the final document for publication passed; the town manager agreed to email the final copy to council members before it is printed.
Council discussion stressed that ratepayer protections are shared among the WPCA board and staff, and that any language should reflect coordinated oversight rather than assigning sole responsibility to the PUA.
